A Pause

Detail from Il Compianto (The Lamentation), by Niccolò dell’Arca

Each week I try to write about something that can inspire what I think of as “living a flavorful life”.   Often the source of my inspiration is Lucca, the small Tuscan town that I consider home.  Other times, I write about Italian culture, events, food, or art. Travel, both in Italy and to other countries, is also a frequent subject.  World events play a smaller role, although in 2020 the covid pandemic became a theme for several months.  One thing I steer clear of is politics, Italian or American. This is not because politics aren’t important, but rather because there are many people who do that much, much better than I ever could. And because even in times of turmoil, we need some lighter moments.

But today I am sitting at my computer, not in Italy but in the western United States where I have been visiting my family for the last month.  And I find myself unable to share an inspiring, informing, or uplifting travel post. Doing so seems too trivial in this moment. Instead, today I need a pause. I need a chance to reset after a simply tragic week in the US which has left me feeling anxious, sad, and unsettled. I’ve heard similar sentiments from friends, family, and other blog readers.  And because I think that art is powerful, and may best capture a mood with no words needed, today I will turn to an especially powerful piece.

Il Compianto sul Cristo Morto

This group of life-size terra cotta sculptures, entitled Il Compianto sul Cristo Morto (The Lamentation over the Dead Christ), by Niccolò dell’Arca, is found in Bologna in the church of Santa Maria di Vita.  The work depicts 7 figures standing over the body of Christ after his crucifixion. I am not posting it today for its religious significance (though that is considerable), but because I don’t think I have ever seen a work of art that captures grief and horror in quite this way. It may have been created centuries ago, but those horrified, tortured, grief stricken faces still resonate today.

Next week I will return to a “normal” blog post. But this week just seems to require something different.

Museo Nazionale del Bargello

One of many statues in the courtyard of the Bargello, this one, from 1579 by Domenico Poggini, is particularly lovely

I could spend the next 20 years in Florence and still not have studied all the art that can be found there.  There is so much to experience - in public buildings, palaces, churches, and museums - that it can be overwhelming, especially if trying to see as much as possible on a short visit. How fortunate it is to spend most of the year just an hour or so away in Lucca, making it easy to return over time, taking in a new museum, seeing just a few artistic highlights, or returning to a favorite place.

One place that I have returned to over the years is the Museo Nazionale del Bargello.  There are many things to love about the Bargello; it is one of my favorite museums anywhere in the world.

First, the history.  Constructed in the 13th century as Florence’s first public building, it began its existence as a place to protect the rights of the people.  Over its long history it has served many purposes and experienced many periods of destruction and rebuilding. After its noble beginning, the palazzo was later used as a justice hall and later a prison.  Political prisoners were tried, jailed, and executed here up until the late 1700’s when the death penalty was banned. Perhaps the most famous political convict was Dante. He received a death sentence here in the year 1302; luckily he had fled Florence and the sentence was never carried out. Instead, he was exiled from Florence.   

The courtyard, looking up to the loggia

Since 1865 the palazzo has served as a museum, housing treasures created by some of Italy’s most famous artists.  Even before viewing the art, the palazzo is magnificent for its architecture.  Standing in the courtyard, with it’s central well, coats of arms, and grand staircase, and looking up toward the first-floor loggia, is a wonder.  Many of the pieces here are recreations of works that had been destroyed during the years when the Bargello served as a prison. 

Ammannati’s Juno Fountain, 1555. (Juno and the peacocks are copies)

Detail, courtyard ceiling

Other pieces were relocated here from various buildings in Florence, including the Juno fountain which was originally meant for the Palazzo Vecchio. Over time it was deconstructed and the 8 statues scattered to different locations. Now, with all the figures reunited, it is a perfect fit in the Bargello’s grand courtyard. 

The courtyard is a peaceful spot to sit and enjoy the start of a visit to this wonderful and generally uncrowded museum. Informational signs, in English, provide an overview of the buildings history, a good beginning to any visit.

The floors above the courtyard hold an abundance of treasures.  I think of the Bargello as primarily a sculpture museum, for it is the sculpture that pulls me back time and again.  The sculptures include a who’s who list of Italy’s most famous artists – Bernini, Donatello, Cellini, Michaelangelo, Verrocchio, Giambologna. 

Bronze Birds by Giambologna, c. 1570

Many of the most famous works can be found in the Donatello Room, originally the palazzo’s grand hall, including both a bronze and a marble David by Donatello. While this room showcases several works by Donatello, others are also represented including the competition pieces by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti for the Baptistery doors. The Donatello room is newly refurnished, with this David right in the center.

A bronze David by Donatello, c.1440 (the marble St. George in the background is also by Donatello)

There is much more to see at the Bargello in addition to sculpture.  There are Della Robbia glazed ceramics, paintings, decorative arts, ivories and paintings. 

A small chapel, with frescoes by Giotto, was where prisoners would be given last rites prior to their execution. Today, it houses religious artifacts including an intricate carved choir lectern.

Il Pescatore (The Fisher Boy), Vincenzo Gemito 1877

The photos here are just a hint of what can be found in the Bargello.  So many visitors to Florence head to the Accademia to see the David and the Uffizi for the famous paintings, and both are wonderful.  But to miss the Bargello is a shame. 

The art there can be viewed close up – but don’t be like the tourists I saw reach beyond the rope to touch a marble statue!  The guard was right on that and after she scolded them she looked at me, shook her head, and said “every day there is at least one like that”.  I would hate to see all these wonderful works of art get hidden behind glass enclosures because of visitors who don’t keep their hands to themselves. 

As they are displayed today, it is a joy to be able to walk around each piece, admiring the different angles and perspectives. I am headed back to Florence for a week’s stay at the end of October with a friend who is a first time visitor.  You can bet the Bargello is one of the places we will go.

The Dancing Cherub, a more playful Donatello

The Windows of Umbria

It’s August, it is hot, and I am feeling pigra (that’s Italian for lazy). To escape the heat I am inside, daydreaming about the cool April week I spent in Umbria this past spring.

Panicale

I must have taken 1,000 photos on that trip, mostly of the beautiful architecture, stunning views over the Umbrian hillsides, and spring flowers

Assisi

Looking back at my photos, many feature beautiful doors and windows. I posted some door photos last week, so today it is windows.

Panicale

Many of the windows were filled with flowers, others were shuttered and bare. Most were set into Medieval stone or brick walls. All made me wonder about all the stories they might tell.

A few of the windows were more modern, set in a vineyard in Bevagna. They provided me with a view of vines, sunsets, cats, and an occasional rabbit.

Old or new, all invited me to take their photo.

Orvieto

This week is also my birthday week and I am thinking that a perfect gift to give myself would be a return to Umbria for the Infiorata (Spello’s famous event where the streets are paved with flowers) as part of a cooking class week next June. Anyone want to join me?

Assisi

The Doors of Umbria

Umbria is full of Medieval hill towns, each with its own character and charm. Every village is unique in character but they all have in common their beautiful architecture. I am drawn to the details of the buildings, especially the many gorgeous doors. Umbria is a good place to find those special details.

I took a lot of photos during a week spent exploring Umbria this past spring and many of them featured doors. Some were worn and neglected, some were beautifully cared for. Many were surrounded by plants and flowers. Here are some of my favorites.

(The windows were pretty spectacular too, but I’ll save those for next week)

Assisi

Bevagna

Orvieto

Panicale

Spello

Do you have some favorite Italian door photos ? I’d be happy to see them on the Two Parts Italy Facebook page!

Via del Fosso, Lucca’s Canal Street

These birds found a comfortable spot in a little nook just above the waterline of the fosso

There was a time, centuries ago, when Lucca was famous for producing silk fabrics. Beginning around the 11th century, Lucchese weavers threaded gold and silver strands into silk to produce some of Europe’s finest fabrics. The industry grew, reaching its peak in the 13th – 14th century.  In addition to the artisans, Lucca had one other essential element needed to produce exquisite fabrics – water.

Via del Fosso, Lucca

The water flowed through a fosso (a ditch or canal) that brought water to the Medieval city from the hills beyond Lucca.  The fosso ran a continuous route along the east and south portions just outside of the Medieval city wall.  As Lucca evolved, the Renaissance period brought the construction of a new wall, the one that still defines the boundary of Lucca’s historic city center. 

The new wall was built well beyond the fosso, encompassing it within the expanded city. The fosso still runs through town, though its route has been interrupted so that it now appears to be a series of separate canals.  The longest section lends its name to one of Lucca’s most interesting streets - Via del Fosso.  Since it is now a canal in several separate stretches, you may hear locals refer to the street as Via dei Fossi – the Street of the Canals, plural, although the official name is still the singular.  Along this street, with the fosso running down the middle, are homes, workshops, restaurants, a hotel, and sometimes pop-up art exhibits. And cars.

When walking the length of the fosso, the first stop is in Piazza Luigi Varanini, at Porta San Jacobo, in the northeastern part of Lucca. This is where the water first tumbles into the canal and begins to fill the fosso. The little guys below thought it was a good spot to catch fish. (Note their pandemic era masks.)

Continuing along Via del Fosso, the water flows under a series of small bridges towards the Madonna dello Stellario statue which stands at the entrance to Piazza San Francesco.  On this stretch of Via del Fosso stands a series of connected houses several stories high.  Looking up to the open terraces at the top of the buildings, it is possible to imagine that, long ago, cloth would have hung in these open air spaces to dry after being dyed.

One of several fountains designed by Nottolini. A spot where locals and tourists alike stop to fill their water bottles

Just before the statue is one of Nottolini’s fountains – the water is fresh and this a great place to stop to fill up a water bottle. 

At this point, the fosso disappears underneath the street to resurface just beyond the statue.  From there, it continues along the next section of Via del Fosso, flowing south towards Porta San Gervasio, one of the two remaining gates into the city through the Medieval walls.  This is a great place to stop and marvel at the ancient gate with its two round towers and its ceiling of stars under the arches.  The canal disappears again under the street and reemerges quickly, along with another fountain, to continue making its way towards the walls.

At the southern end of Via del Fosso, both the street and the canal make a sharp turn to the west towards Via della Rosa.  A little ways up Via della Rosa stands one of Lucca’s smallest and most historic churches, Santa Maria della Rosa. The church was built up against Lucca’s earliest wall, the Roman one.  Inside the church is one of the few places in Lucca to see the remains of the Roman era wall. This detour is well worth making!

Corso Garibaldi in springtime. No longer a visible fosso, but gorgeous Magnolia trees in bloom.

If one were taking this walk centuries ago, from Via della Rosa the canal would have continued flowing west along what is now Corso Garibaldi.  However, in 1821 the canal was paved over at this point and it now flows unseen below the busy street. Today, Corso Garibaldi is known not for its fosso but for its Magnolia trees.  But keep going - a fosso walk doesn’t end here, even if the canal seems to.

Walking to the far end of Corso Garibaldi (hopefully in spring when the Magnolias are in bloom) leads to Via della Cittadella where, just beyond the parking lot, the fosso resurfaces for a short stretch before tumbling underneath the wall and out onto the green space beyond where it becomes a smaller ditch. 

A walk along the fosso is wonderful in any season, but especially in early summer when wildflowers bloom along the stone walls.  The houses and balconies, often with flower filled terraces and hanging laundry, add to the atmosphere. Looking into the waters of the fosso, sometimes fish can be seen swimming and occasionally a duck will float by.  Birds like to hang out in some of the niches in the stone.

Via del Fosso is a bit outside the area where tourists tend to congregate so it has a quieter and more authentic Lucchese vibe - another reason to include a walk along the fosso on any visit to Lucca.